Dofollow vs nofollow links: the practical difference
A dofollow link is a normal link, which search engines may use to pass ranking value. A nofollow link carries rel="nofollow" and asks them not to. Since 2019 Google also uses rel="sponsored" for paid links and rel="ugc" for user-generated content, and treats all three as hints, not strict rules. Dofollow links from relevant sites help rankings most, but nofollow links still bring traffic, discovery and mentions.
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The link attributes
| Attribute | Use for | Ranking value |
|---|---|---|
| (none): "dofollow" | Normal editorial links | May pass value |
| rel="nofollow" | Links you don't want to vouch for | Hint not to pass value |
| rel="sponsored" | Paid, sponsored or affiliate links | Hint not to pass value |
| rel="ugc" | Links in comments, forums, user content | Hint not to pass value |
<a href="https://example.com">Normal ("dofollow")</a>
<a href="https://example.com" rel="nofollow">Nofollow</a>
<a href="https://example.com" rel="sponsored">Paid</a>
<a href="https://example.com" rel="ugc">User content</a>Hints, not rules
Google introduced sponsored and ugc in September 2019 and said all three attributes would be treated as hints for ranking, and later for crawling and indexing. Google may use a nofollow link to discover a page or understand it; it decides case by case.
What nofollow links are still good for
- Referral traffic from people who click.
- Discovery of your pages by crawlers.
- Brand mentions that AI assistants can read. See brand mentions vs backlinks.
- A natural-looking link profile.
Where each kind comes from
| Source | Usually |
|---|---|
| Editorial articles and blog mentions | Dofollow |
| Startup and software directories | Mixed; many dofollow. See directory submissions and SEO |
| Distributed press releases | Mostly nofollow or sponsored. See press release backlinks |
| Social media, Reddit, forums | Nofollow or ugc |
| Wikipedia | Nofollow |
| Paid placements and sponsored posts | Should be sponsored |
How to check a link
Right-click the link and choose Inspect, then look for a rel attribute on the <a> tag. Browser extensions can highlight nofollow links on a page. Backlink tools like Ahrefs and Semrush report the attribute for each of your backlinks. See how to check your backlinks.
Questions people ask
Are dofollow links always better?
For direct ranking value, a relevant dofollow link is stronger. But a profile with only dofollow links from unrelated sites looks unnatural.
Should I nofollow my outbound links?
No, only paid, untrusted or user-generated ones. Linking normally to good sources is fine.